CHARLOTTE, N. Brian ONeill Womens Jersey .C. - The Panthers say theyd like to find a replacement for longtime No. 1 wide receiver Steve Smith in this years NFL draft. The big question is when theyll do it. The Panthers have the 28th overall pick, but the NFC South champions have a variety of needs after getting hit hard in free agency, and could go in a number of directions with their first-round choice. General manager Dave Gettleman said recently that wide receiver, offensive tackle and cornerback are among the teams top needs, but qualified that statement by adding he wont got out of his way to land one. "When you reach for a position of need youre in trouble," he said. Gettleman said he has some reservations about drafting a receiver in the first round because it often takes them longer to adjust to the NFL game than those who play other positions. "History tells you that its a very difficult position to assimilate into (the NFL), especially with the current game being played at the college level," Gettleman said. Gettleman called it a "wide receiver heavy" draft that includes several players whove put up big numbers. He said the trick is finding guys who can easily make the transition to the next level. "Ill look at a guy and hes caught 90 balls ... but of those 45 were flash screens," Gettleman said. "The other 45 he caught, he ran to three spots. So, do they understand coverage? Theyre going to have to learn the whole route tree. How long is it going to take them to assimilate? Its an issue. Its a problem." Smith was released in a salary cap move earlier this off-season. Replacing his toughness and production wont be easy. He caught 836 passes for 12,197 yards and 67 touchdowns for the Panthers in 13 seasons. However, after averaging 76 receptions for 1,284 yards receiving and 5.5 touchdowns in his first two seasons playing with quarterback Cam Newton, Smiths numbers fell off in 2013. He caught 64 passes for 745 yards and four TDs. The Panthers signed free agents Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant and Tiquan Underwood, but none is expected to become the next No. 1 receiver in Carolina. Five things to watch from the Panthers in the draft: ON THE FRONT BURNER: Jordan Gross retired this off-season, leaving a huge hole at left tackle — one the Panthers potentially could address in Round 1. Gettleman said there are some tackles in the draft dont have "left tackle feet," but said that doesnt necessarily matter. "There are only so many elite tackles," he said. "There are plenty of guys playing left tackle in this league that dont have classic left tackle feet." Finding a left tackle might take on added importance given Newton is coming off ankle surgery this off-season. FIRST ROUND SUCCESS: The Panthers have had tremendous success with their first-round picks the last three seasons. They grabbed defensive tackle Star Lotulelei from Utah at No. 14 in 2013, and he looks like hes going to be around the league for quite a while. They drafted linebacker Luke Kuechly at No. 11 in 2012 and quarterback Cam Newton first overall the year before that. Kuechly was the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, while Newton was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2011. BLUE GOOSE: Last year, Gettleman said the Panthers needed to add some "hog mollies," or big linemen. This year, the Boston native switched gears, saying if there is a "blue goose" pass rusher available at No. 28 he wouldnt pass on him. Tough to know what a blue-winged bird native to Ethiopia has to do with building a football team, though. CORNERBACK ON RADAR: The Panthers lost starting cornerback Captain Munnerlyn to Minnesota in free agency. While they signed free agent Antoine Cason, dont rule out cornerback as an option with one of the teams top three picks. The Panthers have one pick in each of the seven rounds. DONT BE REACHING: The Panthers are determined not to reach for picks at positions of need. They followed that plan last year and took defensive tackle Kawaan Short from Purdue in the second round — even after selecting Lotulelei in the first. "Last year, K.K. (Short) was obviously the best value in that second-round pick," Gettleman said. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Alan Page Vikings Jersey . Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane wanted to stay in Chicago and the Blackhawks wanted to keep the high-scoring forwards in the only NHL uniform they have ever known. Chris Doleman Jersey . This game was inside. Adrian Peterson was missing. The stage was set for another step toward the playoffs.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Joey Logano was pushed into the Sprint Cup Series as a fresh-faced, budding superstar barely old enough to drive at NASCARs national level.When Joe Gibbs Racing chose him to replace Tony Stewart in 2009, Logano moved quickly into one of NASCARs top rides with out-of-whack expectations built by glowing recommendations from veteran drivers.It was quickly apparent that Logano would need years to properly fill Stewarts seat at JGR, and the organization had to make a change after four seasons and just two victories. Roger Penske was fast to grab Logano, who has blossomed into the driver many thought hed be when he turned 18 in 2008 and finally became eligible to race at NASCARs top level.Loganos win Sunday at Kansas Speedway was his career-best fifth of the season and earned him an automatic berth into the third round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. After the victory, Penske thanked Joe and J.D. Gibbs for giving Logano four years of seat time and breaking him in.Probably have to send (JGR) a check, Penske joked.Logano heads into Saturday nights race at Charlotte Motor Speedway at the top of the Chase rankings and confident hes a legitimate title contender with his No. 22 Team Penske crew. Its a spot Greg Zipadelli always believed Logano could reach.Zipadelli was Stewarts crew chief at JGR and spent three seasons atop the pit box with Logano before Zipadelli moved into a management role at Stewart-Haas Racing.We asked him to do something he probably wasnt ready to do, Zipadelli said. He did the best he could at the time, and I think he got beat up over it.Logano left JGR with 41 top-10 finishes in 144 starts in the No. 20. He also won five poles, but never earned a spot in the Chase. In his first season with Penske last year, he had career-highs in top-fives, top-10s, laps led and made the Chase.I think the change was good for him. He went to a group that was excited about having hhim a€” not that Gibbs wasnt, but they made different choices, Zipadelli said. Chris Doleman Youth Jersey. We pushed him pretty early. There was never a day I didnt think that kid had talent.___MASON MITCHELL: Mason Mitchell started last winter unsure of his 2014 racing plans and took a gamble leaving his home in Iowa to move to North Carolina to start his own team.The move paid huge dividends as his Mason Mitchell Motorsports team last weekend won the ARCA Racing Series championship.Its unbelievable, Mitchell said. I know there were not too many believers earlier in the year, but we showed them what we were about. I learned so much about myself, living at the race shop and being dedicated. Its just pretty incredible. It takes a lot just to get to the race track.Mitchell finished the season with one win, six second-place finishes and 12 top-five finishes. He also won five poles and his 18 top-10 finishes led all ARCA drivers.Mitchell was solid on every type of track ARCA visited: In two dirt track races, he finished second and fourth. He was 10th on the road course in New Jersey. In nine short track races, he led 449 laps and had seven top-10 finishes.Youre not supposed to do this the first time, Mitchell said. I figured wed be competitive by the end of the race season, but not all year. We never really had a bad day at the race track.___INDYCAR-ENGINE DEVELOPMENT: IndyCar has named Marvin Riley the director of engine development. He will work in developing the rules and performance standards for IndyCar Series engine manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda.Riley, who holds a mechanical engineering degree from Michigan and a business masters from UCLA, has worked the last 10 years as a member of Honda Performance Development. 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